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CAMPO, California — Sixteen years ago, a handful of veteran hikers began hanging out at Lake Morena County Park east of San Diego around mid-April, the time they knew people would be beginning their treks along the Pacific Crest Trail.

The trail runs 2,650 miles from the Mexican to Canadian borders, and the county park is one of the first places hikers stop if they begin at the southern end.

“It was a few former PCT hikers sitting by the trail offering people who passed by a beer and a burger,” said Carl Siechert, one of those veterans.

In that first year, 29 hikers passed through.

This year, there have already been more than 1,000.

The number of hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail has increased ten fold in recent years. Here, a hiker enjoys the view by Juniper on the ridge, Pacific Crest Trail, Eldorado National Forest.

Danita Delimont, Getty Images

The Pacific Crest Trail has seen such an explosion in popularity in the last few years that its cause has been given a name: “The ‘Wild’ effect.” Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling memoir about hiking the trail was published in the spring of 2012, and the film version starring Reese Witherspoon came out in December of last year.

Before the book was published, about 300 people would take out permits to attempt the full hike, which usually takes four to five months. It’s not yet known how many will try this year, but estimates range from 1,600 to 3,000 — 10 times the number who tried before the book came out.

Siechert has seen the popularity explosion first hand, building what was originally a beer-and-burger welcome party into a major kickoff event for hikers at Lake Morena County Park. For the first time this year, he split the event into two three-day shifts to accommodate all the people who wanted to attend.

The Pacific Crest Trail has seen such an explosion in popularity in the last few years that its cause has been given a name: “The ‘Wild’ effect.”

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On a rainy afternoon in April, people stood in a line 30 deep to register for the event while Siechert walked the grounds of the park to make sure everything was running smoothly.

The event is called Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off, or ADZPCTKO, which he knows doesn’t exactly flow off the tongue. But the silliness you feel when trying to pronounce it seems to contribute to its laid-back vibe. He says it’s ad-zz-pict-ko ... or you can just spell it out.

Part campout and part pre-race expo, the kickoff is meant to help hikers prepare for their journeys. Not everyone who was there will hike this year — some people attend who plan to hike the next year and want preparation advice. Others go because they’ve hiked previous years and are reuniting with old trail friends.

Tahoe Rim Trail

A trail marker for the Pacific Crest Trail.

Wade Eakle, Lonely Planet Images

But for those who are hiking, there is plenty of information. Vendors set up booths and tables to sell gear, while veteran hikers barbecue and tell stories. At one booth, called the Wolverine Shakedown Shack, a group of experienced hikers who call themselves the Wolverines go through novices’ backpacks to weed out extra weight they don’t need.

A young couple planning to embark the next day on their hike allowed the contents of their bags to be dumped onto a tarp on the ground while a grizzly-looking Wolverine picked through it.

“What’s this?” the Wolverine asked.

“Laundry liquid,” one of the young hikers said.

“Are you going to wash your clothes on the trail?” the Wolverine asked skeptically.

“No,” the hiker said sheepishly.

The detergent was tossed into the reject pile.

A lone backpacker sits on a slab of granite rock and watches the early sun beams of the morning light hit Banner Peak behind Thousand Island Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

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Part of ADZPCTKO is about “calming the butterflies,” Siechert said.

“People setting off on this kind of adventure don’t know what they’re getting into,” he said. “For those who haven’t put a lot of thought into it, that’s part of what we’re about, too, is providing a lot of the information that improves their chances of success, and survival for that matter.”

One of the fixtures at the event is “Meadow Ed” Faubert, who helped Cheryl Strayed pare down her way-too-heavy backpack when she hiked the trail. Meadow Ed is now PCT-famous because he had a small part in the film, and he and Siechert went to its premiere.

“They’ve named me the social butterfly and say it’s my job to talk to the paparazzi,” Faubert said of his new role among the hikers.

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Faubert’s celebrity hints at the tension “Wild” has created. Some hikers are excited about the attention the book and film have brought to the Pacific Crest Trail, while others grumble about inaccuracies, Strayed’s lack of preparation when she did the hike, and that the trail isn’t the solitary space it once was.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association, a nonprofit organized to “protect, preserve and promote” the trail, has embraced the glow the book and film has cast. Witherspoon’s face is front and center on their website, and one click brings you to the film's trailer. The association published a special “Wild edition” of its magazine and helps visitors find hikes featured in the book and film.

People are definitely worried about the ‘Wild’ effect, though we can't really figure out what it is yet.

Strayed has partnered with the association on a campaign called “Responsibly Wild,” which is meant to teach hikers to be safe and responsible on the trail, said Jack 'Found' Haskel, a trail information specialist for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

The campaign uses social media, magazine articles and outreach at events to teach hikers how to minimize their impacts on the trail.

“The PCT passes by and through a lot of very sensitive places, and in a lot of ways that’s why we hike, to be immersed in nature and see beautiful primitive wild landscapes,” Haskel said. “But one person can have a lot of effect and really damage a place.”

The Pacific Crest Trail Association aims to teach hikers a few important lessons. The first is about pooping.

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Or, more accurately, where to poop, Haskel said. Hikers should know to respond to the call of nature away from their camps, the trail and at least 200 feet away from water. They should dig a hole 6- to 8-inches deep and always pack out their toilet paper.

Another is the safe and responsible use of fire, which is especially important this year given California’s drought.

“Campfires are almost never allowed in southern California, and because of the drought campfire bans will be in place in most of western United States,” Haskel said.

“People setting off on this kind of adventure don’t know what they’re getting into."

Haskel said while he doesn’t mind the extra exposure the film brought to the trail, Witherspoon is shown committing a few trail sins that he would correct.

Majestic View of Mt. Hood on a bright, colorful sunset during the summer months. Picture was taken off the Pacific Crest Trail.

jose1983, Getty Images

“Clearly there are some scenes that aren’t perfect,” he said. “A great example is in the beginning, there’s a surface turd that’s shown. There’s poop that isn’t buried 6 to 8 inches, but is left on the surface. That’s a classic move for a beginner hiker, so the movie is true to that, and it’s a great learning opportunity for people.”

Bet Witherspoon never thought her poop would be so important.

More importantly, he said, the extra popularity this year means that abiding by wilderness rules is even more important.

“If this year people continue to be as conscientious as they have in the past, the PCT will continue to be a wonderful place,” he said. “The PCT is and continues to be an exceptionally high-quality wilderness passage, because almost everybody does such a good job of taking care of it.”

A hiker takes a break along part of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon.

andipantz, Getty Images

The Pacific Crest Trail Association also has a network of 1,600 volunteers who look for hikers who may not know the rules and educate them, he said. The volunteers also work to clean up campsites, remove trash and help keep the trail in good condition.

Still, many hikers range from being nervous to annoyed about the extra attention to the trail.

“People are definitely worried about the 'Wild’ effect, though we can't really figure out what it is yet,” said Dan Moe, a baker from Portland, Oregon who’s hiking this year.

He said while he thinks there are more hikers on the trail this year, he hasn’t yet met anyone who’s out there because of the book or film.

“At least they don't admit it,” he said.

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Moe decided this was his year to attempt the Pacific Crest Trail, but not because of Wild.

“My brother decided he wanted to be on the trail this year and I jumped at the opportunity to join him,” he said. “Though he didn't end up out here this year, it made too much sense for me not to follow through. No mortgage, no kids, and an amazing wife that supports this whole endeavor. I had to do it before I couldn't do it anymore.”

Moe’s wife has been dehydrating and vacuum-sealing his meals for weeks and mailing them to different spots along the trail for him to pick up.

“To be honest, I don't how I would have done this without her,” he said.

He’s also working hard to follow all the “leave no trace” rules, including following the bathroom guidelines, packing out all of his trash and picking up any trash he finds that other hikers have left behind.

“We only camp in established campsites and I doubt we'll have a campfire for the entire summer,” he said. “I'm here to see some of this amazing scenery before it’s gone, one way or another. It would be a disservice to myself and all others looking to enjoy this opportunity to negatively impact the landscape any further than my boot prints.”

He said he hasn’t yet seen anyone breaking any rules, but “trash and general disrespect for the trail weigh heavy on our minds.”

More of a worry, though, is “a possible increase in people who are unprepared for the realities of the trail. If we come across a person who needs our help in some way, we wouldn't hesitate to assist them (we're all humans out here), and that comes at a cost to everyone who has put in the time and effort to be ready for this.”

Camping under the stars in the Cleveland National Forest.

Dan Barr, Stocktrek Images

Clare Major, another hiker on her first attempt at the Pacific Crest Trail, said she did enjoy the “Wild” book and film, but that isn’t why she’s on the trail this year.

The hike has long been on her radar “and this was the year that everything lined up to make it happen,” she said.

While she thinks Wild has boosted the number of hikers this year, she also thinks backpacking and attempting long trails is getting more popular in general.

“There's a wider range of lightweight backpacking gear that's now available, which makes it physically easier to hike,” she said. “And being outdoorsy, or at least looking outdoorsy, seems popular right now, given the success of REI and the ubiquity of North Face fleece jackets.”

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Hiking’s popularity has been growing steadily. According to a report from the Outdoor Foundation, the number of Americans who said they went hiking at least once increased by almost 15% between 2007 and 2013. Still, the report estimates that just under 12% of the United States population went hiking in 2013, which makes hiking less popular than fishing, running and walking on a treadmill.

While Major read a lot of annoyance about the “Wild” effect in online discussions about the trail before she left, “since being out on the trail hiking almost no one has talked about it,” she said.

“We talk about more immediate concerns — where the next water source is, how far to the next town, what we're excited about eating. Once you're actually out here hiking the miles that will take you from Mexico to Canada, the off-trail trail drama fades away.”